Rice was severely affected by planthoppers and rice sheath blight, maize was slightly affected by armyworms in August, 2015

For Southern China, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, due to large areas being cultivated either as single cropping rice or double cropping rice, a variety of different phenological stages coexist, which provides favourable conditions for planthopper. Above average rainfall and normal temperature in eastern Southwest China, south of the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River basin was conducive to planthopper reproduction and sheath blight dispersal.

The total area affected with planthopper in China during August 2015 is estimated to 20 million Ha, with the pest mostly occurred in Southern China, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, eastern Southwest China and Northeast China (Figure 1(a)). Rice sheath blight damaged around 15 million Ha in the whole China, with the disease mostly found along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, most of Southern China and east of Southwest China (Figure 1(b)).

Overall, the situation of maize diseases and pests in main producing regions of China was relatively quiet during August 2015. Northern leaf blight only occurred in Northeast and Southwest China; and for armyworm, the suitable temperature and precipitation in Northeast China, Huanghuaihai and Inner Mongolia provide proper environment for armyworm reproduction.

Figure 2(a) shows that only some parts of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou were affected by northern leaf blight. Within the diseased regions, the total damaged area is around 565 thousand Ha. For armyworms, the total area affected in the whole China is around 1.5 million Ha, with the pest mostly observed in the Huanghuaihai, Inner Mongolia and Northeast of China (Figure 2(b)).